Last time we heard from him, Congressman Rufus Rodriguez filed House Resolution 1007 calling for the immediate suspension of the vehicle emission testing, in view of the long hours of queuing being endured by applicants for renewal of vehicle registration at many LTO offices. To ease the suffering of the vehicle owners, he proposed that the emission testing resume on January 2021.
Just recently, he filed House Bill 1045 which seeks the suspension of the implementation of LTO Memorandum Circular No. 2019-2176. The LTO memorandum, which takes effect on August 3, requires applicants for student’s permit and those renewing their driver’s license to undergo a mandatory driving course for 15 hours of theoretical seminars, and eight hours of driving enhancement training from private driving schools, respectively.
“It would seem that there are many problems that would result from the implementation of the memorandum circular and it will only be an additional financial burden to and time-consuming for the Filipino people,” he said.
“The requirement for a student permit applicant will cost about P3,000 to P5,000 for a theoretical and actual driving course from a private driving school. These amounts will also be spent by all of us drivers when renewing our driver’s license by requiring us to undergo a driving enhancement program even if we have no violations on our records,” he added.
He described the new LTO order as “burdensome” for many vehicle owners, particularly those from the provinces who need to a private driving institution in the city aside from the exorbitant amount—P3,000 to P5,000 for theoretical and actual driving courses for student drivers—they have to shell out from their pockets just to comply.
Instead of the motorists, he said it should be the LTO that should provide the driving courses for free for the applicants, while only those with demerits must be made to pay for the refresher training and seminar for violating traffic rules.
Rodriguez also pointed out that Republic Act No. 10930, otherwise known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, “does not provide that the LTO will accredit external private driving schools and it is common knowledge that these driving schools are there to make money.”
Agree or disagree?
